When will the breaks come for the Niners?

In the last 8 minutes of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles the 49ers looked like the potential division winner before the season began.  Head coach Mike Singletary challenged quarterback Alex Smith to play up to his potential after a costly fumble the possession before that resulted in an Eagles decisive game winning touchdown.  San Francisco’s only identity is on the defensive side where they are able to stop some of the best offensive teams in the league for most of the game, but can’t capitalize on offense and score points.  It’s not a bad thing to be a defensive team, but you will have to outscore your opponent to beat them.  Three of the 49ers five losses were by no more than a field goal.  And three of those opponents are potential playoff teams in Atlanta, New Orleans and Philadelphia.  I don’t know when San Francisco will get the breaks, but I do know that they will win a game very soon.  You can’t have this much talent and not get a win until after your 10th game.

The Giants of old are back

It started in Week 4 with their 10 sack performance against the Chicago Bears quarterbacks.  Yes, they took Jay Cutler out of the game at halftime and continued the onslaught against Todd Collins.  This week they didn’t get 10 sacks, only 3.  However, they were able to stop the league’s best rushing team, the Houston Texans, with only 24 total yards rushing.  Quarterback Matt Schaub had a healthy Andre Johnson to throw to, but for most of the game was under constant pressure and when he had time to throw to Johnson, the pass was often times off line.  Tom Coughlin has apparently reached his players in the last two weeks.  A far cry from their previous two against the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.  Those were probably two of the worst games under the Coughlin regime.  Now the Giants are in position to go 5-2 before their bye week.  With victories over Detroit at home and at Dallas, the Giants would vault themselves into the forefront of contention in the wide open NFC.

Brett Favre has more pressure on and off the field

Let me first say that I’m not surprised, if true, that a guy of Brett Favre’s stature would do the things that he is alleged to have doing to a former Jets employee.  He’s not denying it adamantly like most would, so you have to wonder what’s going on there.  With that weighing him down off the field, on the field he has a legitimate receiving threat in Randy Moss.  It was no surprise that Favre connected with Moss during the Monday night game against the Jets.  What also surprised some, not me, was how Favre collapsed at the end of a winnable game in which the Vikings only needed a field goal to potentially win the game.  Alas Favre did what Favre does best and try to rifle the ball into tight coverage and it resulted in a pick six to win the game for the Jets.  Now there comes word of elbow tendinitis in his throwing arm.  Will Favre be forced to sit out a game this season?  Very unlikely now that he has Moss to throw to.  Good luck getting the Vikings into the playoffs this year.  His chances are still good in the wide open NFC.

Donovan McNabb’s triumphant return to Philadelphia

It came as no surprise to me that the Eagles former quarterback received more cheers than boos in the pre-game introductions.  He did lead the Eagles to five straight NFC Championship games.  One of those resulting in a trip to the Super Bowl, only the second in franchise history.  And it came as no surprise that he received more boos when the game was under way.  What did surprise me though was the lack of energy, fight or spirit from the Eagles in that game.  I mean, you did remember it’s Sunday right?  After an Eagles three and out to start the game it only took three plays for the Redskins to score the first touchdown.  Shortly there after as the Eagles started to show some life, Michael Vick suffered a rib injury that seemed to destroy the hopes and dreams of an Eagles victory that day.  When you look at the final score (17-12) and at the stats, no one had a great game.  The Redskins won a crucial game against an opponent in their division and the Eagles lost their starting quarterback and had to bring in their other starting quarterback.  McNabb got the win and that’s all that matters for him, but you know he had a good night’s sleep that day.  Sticking it the team that traded you away is always gonna put a smile on that players face.  Just ask Brett Favre.  Why do you think he’s playing into his 40s?  Simple answer: Revenge.

The flaw with the Colts

I can’t believe that a team that had one of the worst run defenses in recent memory won a Super Bowl.  Wait this isn’t 2006 is it?  No, it is 2010 and the Colts still don’t have a championship caliber defense.  Yes, they manned up and fixed their flaw at the right time in ’06, but they’ve started the 2010 season at 2-2.  Why?  They gave up over 200 yards rushing to Arian Foster of the Houston Texans and 174 rushing yards to the 29th ranked offense in the Jacksonville Jaguars this past week.  That’s why they’re 2-2.  Now I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Colts will completely fall apart and not even make the playoffs, but you have to wonder when it will end?  Peyton Manning can only carry you so far.  That game against Jacksonville proved to the rest of the league one thing about the Colts.  If you get the last possession, you still have a chance against the Indianapolis Colts.  To be honest the Colts (specifically the defense) never put that fear into another opponent when it was game time.  Maybe it points to not having safety Bob Sanders on the field.  I’m not an expert, but when you have a guy that has a no fear attitude for every snap, that makes a big difference in how your defense acts.  But the problem doesn’t lie with the absence of one player, but rather with the fact that the Colts have never been able to stop the run and the rest of the league is starting to realize that.

Why do the 49ers suck?

I will preface this by saying that I am a fan of the San Francisco 49ers since 1992.  I have been behind them in almost every facet of the game except when they hired Dennis Erickson to be their head coach.  Those were two long years.  Anyway what is wrong with them?  I didn’t have them going any better than 9-7 in the worst division in football and they start out the season 0-4?  I will say that offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye probably wasn’t the right guy for the job.  Why did it seem so difficult to run an NFL offense when you’ve done it for almost 30 years?  But that was taking the easy way out.  Ultimately Raye was running the offense that head coach Mike Singletary was wanting.  A ball control conservative attack that focused on getting the ball to running back Frank Gore.  The other problem is that when you do want to pass the ball, the quarterback still is having issues of ball control.  I will say that two of Alex Smith’s 7 interceptions were the results of a defender tipping the ball and Michael Crabtree not making a concerted effort of going after the ball, but that still leaves 5 interceptions.  It starts at the top.  As much as it pains me to say it, but maybe Singletary is out of his league a bit?  He will need to bring in a new quarterback and probably will need to change his offensive philosophy.  It will be difficult since he is a defensive minded coach and he will have to survive this season before getting a chance at getting a new quarterback.  His “cannot play with them, cannot coach with them, cannot win with them, can’t do it” attitude is exactly what the 49ers needed when he took over last year.  Now they need someone who knows how to make adjustments on the fly.  I still have faith in my team, but I can’t say the same for the other 49er faithful.

Dallas, Minneapolis, you have a problem

It’s true that very few teams have made it to the playoffs when they start the season 0-2.  It’s even more rare that they make the playoffs starting the season 0-3.  That is what faces the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings.  Minnesota seems to be in a more dire situation.  Through two games Brett Favre’s stats look like this: 396 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT and a 58.7 completion percentage.  Their leading receiver is Visanthe Shiancoe with 10 catches and 162 yards, but only two other receivers (Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin) have more than 5 catches.  The problem is two fold.  Favre has no chemistry with the same receivers he had from last year, minus Sidney Rice who is on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.  And Brad Childress seems to be lost in running the offense.  He was right to give the ball to Adrian Peterson the ball on 4th down at the goal line, but that was the fourth straight run play.  Mix in a pass there.  Luckily they play host to the 0-2 Detroit Lions in Week 3.
The Cowboys is a bit more predictable.  The only surprise to me is that they usually have a good start to the season, but fizzle in November/December. The main problem is their lack of a balanced offense.  The Cowboys have three, I say again, three good running backs.  Why is Tony Romo throwing the ball 47 and 51 times in their first two games?  I could understand it if the Cowboys were losing big, but they lost to Washington 13-7 and to Chicago last week 27-20.  When you don’t have balance on offense, you end up looking lost.  Tony Romo doesn’t deserve any blame in my opinion, but I can assure you that eventually owner Jerry Jones will snatch a headset from offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and head coach Wade Phillips very soon if things don’t change quick.  Their next game is in Houston, which is no walk in the park anymore.

This isn’t the same old Texans

Yes, the Houston Texans exposed a weakness from the defending AFC champion Indianapolis Colts with 257 yards rushing.  What everyone forgot about was the fact that Houston can still throw the football to win games.  It was a dull week with the exception of the Houston vs. Washington.  Both Matt Schaub and Donovan McNabb threw for over 400 yards.  Both defenses didn’t look to bad either with the amazing passing performances from both quarterbacks.  Houston solidified themselves as early contenders with the Schaub to Andre Johnson connection being put on display.  I wasn’t thinking too much about Johnson’s ankle injury late in the game.  Why?  Knowing him, he was going to play.  He is the best receiver in the NFL and showed why with the game tying TD catch on 4th and 10 in the fourth quarter.  Schaub showed tremendous poise under constant pressure from a blitzing Redskins defense.  It was a good test for a team on the rise.  Next they have to continue to show their worth by hosting the desperate, yes they are, 0-2 Dallas Cowboys.  If Houston should win that game, they will have an easy line to start the season 6-0 before they play the Colts again.

So many new and familiar faces made an apperance

I don’t think I have ever seen so many starters lose their job in just the second week of the season.  Yes, it was only four, but that seems to be a lot.  Tennessee decided to bench Vince Young and hand the reigns to Kerry Collins to start the fourth quarter.  Carolina losing late decided it was time to unveil Jimmy Clausen for Matt Moore.  Jacksonville losing big and David Garrard struggling benched him for Luke McCown.  Oakland couldn’t take the inconsistency and went to Bruce Gradkowski to start the second half over Jason Campbell.  Buffalo didn’t make the change until after the game, but they are going with Ryan Fitzpatrick instead of Trent Edwards.  Out of all those moves, do any help the team’s current state?  Jeff Fisher benching Young was more of a wake up call.  Pittsburgh has a great defense and the Titans need to better prepare Young for that.  The Panthers are in a downward spiral and Clausen will be thrown into the fire a lot sooner than they would like.  Garrard is still the starter, but throwing 4 interceptions won’t help his job status for much longer.  The Raiders will be hard pressed to avoid creating a quarterback controversy now that they won a game with Gradkowski relieving Jason Campbell.  Campbell is the better quarterback, but will he use this to live up to Al Davis’ expectations of him?  As for Buffalo’s decision.  Are you really surprised they made a change this quickly? 

Vick is making a comeback

Okay it’s now official.  There is a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia.  All the blame for it goes to Andy Reid.  He put himself into a corner by announcing that Kevin Kolb would start their next game after the Eagles beat Detroit.  Just 24 hours later, he started to back track and then named Michael Vick the starter for the rest of the season.  What a twist.  Yes, Vick has looked like the old Vick from Atlanta.  He still has that crazy ability to scramble and make play out of the pocket.  His deep throws were incredibly accurate and his receivers were able to make plays after the catch.  Again I point out they were playing the Detroit Lions.  How will Vick handle the Redskins defense or the 49ers defense, whom the Eagles play in the next few games.  It amazes me that the Eagles appeared to have dealt McNabb to a division rival and replaced him with a quarterback who hasn’t played full time in over three years.  However, it becomes apparent that this decision was made for only this season.  Had Kolb not suffered a concussion, he would be playing.  The Giants are terrible.  The Cowboys have no identity.  The Redskins are still the Redskins.  Andy Reid sees this year as an opportunity to make some noise and get into the playoffs.  On paper it looks like the right call, but at what price?  Kolb’s psyche is shot I’m sure.  He has to wait another year to get his shot when he thought this year was it.  Reid might get some extra victories, but Vick hasn’t shown what he can do against elite teams yet.

A lot happened this past weekend in the NFL that deserves to be mentioned.  I will take it upon myself to go over a few things that I see fit to be discussed after every week during the NFL regular season and playoffs.  Lets get started shall we.

The Detroit Lions lose because of a silly rule

It had appeared to everyone that was watching it happen live that the Detroit Lions had won their first road game in 3 years.  Yes, it’s been that long.  Detroit played a good game and well, lets just say that Chicago needs some work in short yardage situations.  Also Jay Cutler still has the turnover problem (1 INT, 1 fumble). 
Detroit had lost Matthew Stafford earlier in the game and Shaun Hill stepped in and did an admirable job.  He did throw one interception, but the drive that mattered at the end of the game was a beauty.  Detroit’s best receiver Calvin Johnson was thrown to often.  He only managed 4 catches for 45 yards to end the game, but he made an incredible catch for what was to be the go ahead touchdown. 
However, the referees huddled (pun intended) and deemed the catch to not be a catch because Johnson did not have control of the ball coming down.  Now from first impression, it was a catch.  Had the ball in the air.  Came down, still with the ball.  Butt hits the ground, still has the ball.  Then as he starts to get up, the ball is left on the ground when Johnson gets up. 
There is a rule that was put in place last year that says (I’m paraphrasing) that the receiver has to have full control of the football after he touches the ground.  Here is the rule so you can read it for yourself.  By rule, Johnson did not have control of the football.
Now I don’t like the rule at all.  A running back lunging for the goal line loses the ball at the pylon still counts as a touchdown.  The ball crossing the plane of the goal line still counts as a touchdown.  This rule doesn’t make sense when you account for those other two. 
The Lions did get hosed, but the referees were correct.  They reviewed it to be sure and still came back with the correct answer.  Unfortunately the NFL won’t change the rule in the middle of the season.  It’s not their style.  The only saving grace is that it was during Week 1.  Not Week 17 or during a playoff game.  Like we think the Lions will make the playoffs this year anyway.  Oops.  Did I say that out loud?

A quarterback controversy in Philly?

Now you would think that the controversy would have something to do with the Eagles trading away Donovan McNabb and maybe regretting it.  Honestly I didn’t expect a controversy to happen until mid-way through the season, but after Week 1?
Kevin Kolb looked lost and who could blame him.  Why was Michael Vick being inserted on what seemed to be every other play against the Packers?  Kolb couldn’t get a rhythm going.  It also didn’t help that he was planted in the turf by Packers linebacker Clay Matthews Jr.  Kolb wouldn’t return thanks to a concussion.  Vick proceeded to take over the second half of the game and almost got the Eagles the victory, but at what cost?  Kolb is their future. 
They traded McNabb to get ready for the Kolb era.  Vick isn’t the long term solution.  At least when they signed him I didn’t think he was going to be.  There seems to be a silly misconception with Andy Reid and what he thinks Michael Vick can do for his offense.  Vick doesn’t solve your problem on 3rd down and 1 to go.  Vick is not the accurate passer that the west coast offense needs. 
How is there a controversy to begin with?  Kolb is hurt.  Yes he looked lost, but to me it’s because Andy Reid wants to use gimmick plays with Vick way too often.  The Miami Dolphins wildcat offense thinks Reid is doing that way too much. 
This is a non-issue right now, but when Kolb is ready to play, will Andy keep doing the gimmick plays?  If so why did you trade Donovan McNabb to begin with?  Kevin Kolb needs the offense to himself if you think he is your future.  Anybody can tell you that coach.

Two stupid mistakes equals a loss

Dallas was down by only a field goal with less than 30 seconds to go in the first half.  They were somewhere on their own 30.  Take a knee and go into the half knowing you’re only down by 3 right?  Wrong if you’re head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who is the next head coach in Dallas. 
The Cowboys proceeded to try and move the ball down field.  I’m screaming take a knee!  What are you doing?  Sure enough on the third play, it was a botched screen pass, I think and Tashard Choice promptly fumbles and the Redskins return it for a touchdown.  10-0 Redskins at halftime.  Thank you Dallas.
That’s why you take a knee Phillips and Garrett.  Every time something like that happens, you always think that in some way shape or form that it will bite them in the but.  Sure enough it did. 
The Cowboys were down 13-7 on the last drive and the Redskins had left Miles Austin open far too often.  Dallas was in the redzone with less than 10 seconds in the game.  Romo was under pressure escaped the pocket briefly to find a wide open Roy Williams in the endzone.  Touchdown Cowboys game over right?  Wrong again. 
Right Tackle Alex Barron, who was starting for injured Marc Colombo, was called for holding.  It should have been for a choke hold on Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo because that’s what it was.  Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams was quoted saying “You can’t blame it on that one play.”  Yeah you can.  That would’ve won the game. 
Wade Phillips took responsibility for the idiotic move of not taking a knee before halftime.  He also seemed to fault Choice as well.  “If you catch the ball with 4 seconds left, you don’t need to make an extra yard or two.”  Keep telling yourself that next time coach.

Panic in tinsel town

With all the talk the Jets have been doing this offseason and the “Hard Knocks” HBO special, it was time to put up or shut up.  Well, they should have realized who they were playing for their first game.  The Baltimore Ravens have seen this before many times and they usually know what to do.  Smack them in the mouth.
Neither team could get anything going offensively, but the Ravens did have success getting Anquan Boldin the ball.  Which to the surprise of many, Darrelle Revis wasn’t moved to his side of the field until it was too late. 
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis made his presence known throughout the game by disrupting the running game and laying the smackdown on Jets tight end Dustin Keller late in the game.  It was brutal.
All in all it was exactly what I expected.  The Ravens would bring the Jets back down to earth and the Jets would have to tone down the talking and get back to business.  However, I didn’t expect the kind of panic from most about the Jets lack of an offense.  They played the Ravens folks.  They have a good defense too last I checked. 
Seeing Dustin Keller run out of bounds to end the game without looking for the first down marker summed up the entire game for me.  Baltimore was in their heads from start to finish.  Sanchez had no time to throw and the running game couldn’t get a decent push on the line.  The Jets will recover.  The Ravens are here to stay.  That’s all.  Don’t jump ship yet New York.  Yikes.